Dear Mr. Radar: Volume 1

Dear Mr. Radar:

You are traveling again, which means I miss you. I know that you are out, working hard and being the perfect nerd that you are. I am so proud that you are now the scientist and professional that you dreamed of becoming. You have-and continue- to work so hard. Soon you will be Dr. Radar, and I couldn't be more proud.

You refuse to give up on me, supporting me no matter what. I change my mind often, and am frequently difficult. You are steady and patient in spite of it all. I appreciate your love and support more than you could possibly know. 2010 has been a difficult, unkind year. Even though there are quite a few months to go- I couldn't have made it through the last ten months without you.


Fall is your favorite time of year. It's a beautiful, reflective time of year. Fall is the time to give thanks. And I am so thankful for you.



The first two photos are were taken by the lovely and talented Faye Sommer.

In Our Spare Time...We'll pick berries

Mr. Radar doesn't have a lot of spare time. So when he does, I always want to do something super special. Special to us does not usually involve exciting, trendy, or crazy activities. When Mr. Radar is home, we spend nearly all of our time together. We devote a lot of our free time to relatively mundane activities, like reading together, walking together, and watching our favorite TV shows on DVD (Gilmore Girls, Mad Men, Pushing Daisies). Another favorite past time is discussing the relative cuteness of our dog, Buddy. He is really cute...but don't get me started!

We decided to take the day off from packing, cleaning, painting, and other house related activities. Mr. Radar, in a rare twist, will be home for almost an entire month straight! A miracle to me, so I wanted to commemorate with a day trip. We decided to go blueberry picking at BerryHill Farm in Xenia. We rounded up Mama Bee (after we had breakfast, of course), and headed to the country. It was a pleasant drive on a cool(ish), cloudy day.


We came home with nearly 10 pounds of blueberries!!! and three pints of raspberries. We enjoyed the farm so much, we will be going back next week for more raspberries. I'll be making a Lavender scented blueberry jam tomorrow, with Mama Bee and Grandma Bee. Thank you Caroline, for the recipe & inspiration.

I'm also committed to making a homemade meal every single day this week. I'm hoping this makes up for all of the bad restaurant food we ate while moving. Tomorrow, expect a very jammy Sunday Supper. As well as a delicious chicken salad recipe, grilled pizza, boozy basil peaches from theRunawaySpoon, quinoa experiments, and the much prolonged pickle recipe.

London Bridge is Falling Down

You know that song. London Bridge is Falling Down, Falling down, My Fair Lady. Simple lyrics that I never thought would apply to my life- because what nursery rhyme is practical? But, my london bridge is falling down. Let me explain.

Mr. Radar's work has put the kibosh on our trip to England. Lots of bureaucracy. Too much work for Mr. Radar here in the states and elsewhere. Fortunately for Mr. Radar, he still gets to go to England as part of his regularly scheduled work travel. Sadly for Hilary Bee, I have to stay home. I'll still make smaller trips with him, and hopefully- though it will take longer, I will tackle my bucket list. Obviously, I am extremely disappointed by this decision, especially since it came just a month before our estimated leave date. It's not the best scenario, and it is hard to see the good in this misadventure. We rented out our house- and now our poor renter, is homeless. I am (hopefully temporarily!) jobless- but let's not talk about the "W" word- that's not what this blog is about.

I feel pretty lost. Lots of sacrifices were made. Unfortunately, our situation is not that different from many other military families out there who must pick-up shop every 3-4 years. Travel is Mr. Radar's albatross. We were hoping a change of station to England would alleviate much of his travel related stress. Even though we are not moving- or at least I'm not going anywhere- I have decided to continue with the blog. If there are even any readers out there, I hope you do not become too bored with my life at the bungalow. Hopefully I can get more content together and keep the blog going. Because I really like the blog.

End Scene. Next Act. More Cake.

Sunday Supper: Mr. Radar's Homecoming Meal

Mr. Radar will be coming home soon- and I thought I would treat him with a special menu just for him. On Thursday (yes, I know not a Sunday) I tested a few original recipes on good friends. I am still working out a few kinks, so I adjusted Mr. Radar's menu based on the changes I have made since Thursday. The heat wave we are experienced really inspired the menu. I like to serve simple, light food on really hot days. Remember those beets from the market? They were truly gorgeous and of exceptional quality. I served them chilled with a refreshing orange sauce. The sugar snap peas and arugula from the market also made an appearance. On Thursday, I made a simple no-sugar dessert of whipped cream and fresh fruit. Our friend Galen is diabetic- though any kind of Fool would be a cool treat on a hot day. I wanted to make Mr. Radar something special. So I froze those sour cherries for him. I will make a Sour Cherry Cobbler from the cookbook Rustic Fruit Desserts. I will make the cobbler in advance and serve with ice cream; the perfect summer dessert.

Menu:

Chilled Beet Salad with Cardamom Scented Orange Supremes (pictured)


Snap Peas with an Orange Mint Gremolata

Lemon Herb Ravioli with a Pistachio Pesto

Sour Cherry Cobbler